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(No Model.) r 3 Sheets sheet 1;

J. R. CLARK.

PILL MAGHINB}.

No. 497,532. Patented May 16, 1893.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. R. CLARK. PILL MAGHINE;

No.497,532.' PatentedMay 16,'1 893 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES R. CLARK, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOALFRED YLEGGOE,VOF SAME PLACE.

. PILL-I-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 497,532 dated May 16,1893. Application filed June 29,1892. Serial No. 428,393. (NomotleL)Improvementin Pill-Machines; and I do hereby d'eclare the following tobe a full,clear, and

to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

IO My invention has relation to machines for compressing pulverized.materials into tablets or pills, and consists in the mechanismhereinafter particularly describedand claimed.

The object of my invention'is to provide a strong, light and. efficientcompressing machine of simple construction capable of rapid operationand which may be produced at a comparatively small cost.

f In the accompanying drawings similar let- 2o ters refer to similarparts throughout.

Figure 1 is afront elevation of the machine illustrating my invention.Fig. 2 isa partial cross sectional'view on the line 00-00 of Fig.

j 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 'y@ of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is apartial cross sectional View on the line zz of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is abottom view. Fig. 6 is a detached perspective view representing theplungerand ejector operating mechanism in detail. Fig. 7 is a de- 0tached perspective view representing the tubular feeding section and,operating mechanism; Fig. 8 represents the. dieechamber and the dieplate detached,

A represents the base of the machine upon 5 which is located the twovertical standards, A, A preferably formed in one casting with the'baseor lower frame A. The die-chamber, d, is provided inJthe die plate, 19,which is socured in position upon the base, A, by the 0 screw, 12-,which passes through said plate, 19, and is screwed into the base, A, orattached by other suitable means. A horizontal shaft, S,.is journaled inthe upper portion of the standards, A, A in suitable journal bearings,

5 andis'operated from. the wheel, H, byhand or other power through thegearings, k, k. The plunger, P, into the'lower end of which the upperdie, (1', is secured, isoperated in its Vertical bearing,.-b, by meansof the cam, O,

' the cam strap, 0 and. rod, c,.provided upon vania,have invented acertain new and useful I exact description thereof, reference being badthe horizontal shaft, S. An auxiliary bearing or eccentric bushing, c,is provided on the cam, G, and within the cam strap, 0 as shown in Fig.4 to regulate the thrust of the plunger, P, and to govern the amount ofpressure upon the pulverized material in the die- -chamber, (1; byreleasing the screw-threaded bolt, 0 in the rod, 0, theeccentric'bushing, a, may be so adjusted that the cam, C, will give tothe plunger, P, a greater or less thrust, 2.0- cording to the pressuredesired; when the bolt, 0 is screwed down it will be seen that thebushing, 0, will be firmly held inposition in the cam strap, 0 while thecam, C, revolves within. The ejector, or lower die, d reciprocatesvertically in the die-chamber, d; duringthe compression and while in itslowermost position it acts as an anvil, and when the tablet has beencompressed and the upper die, d, withdrawn it operates as an ejector toeject the compressed tablet; this ejector, d is secured in a groove orby other suitable means removably in the vertical guide rod or lowerplunger, d and is operated in a guideway or vertical orifice, O, by thelever, L, pivoted at Z. The lever, Lis connected at oneend with thelower plunger, d

by a pivotal or-loose joint, preferably in the nature of a ball-andsocket joint, as shown in the drawings, Figs. 3 and 6. The other end ofthe lever, L, is connected with a vertical cam operated rod, R, operatedat its upper end .by the doubleacting cams, r, 1", upon the shaft, S,which operates respectively to elevate and depress the rod, R, bycontact with the pulleys, r r provided upon it; the cam,

r, operating upon the pulley, T to elevate the rod, R, and the cam, 1',operating upon the pulley, T to depress it; the pulleys, r arepreferably adjustably secured upon the rod, 0 B, through the medium ofthe bolts, 4, provided in slotted orifices in the rod; the rod, R, isalso preferably provided with a screwthreaded joint, j, so that it mayby this means be lengthened or shortened as desired. The 5 spiralsprings, s, s, are preferably located on the rod, R, and confinedthereon by the pins, s 8 so as to render the movement of the lever, L,operated by the rod, R, positive and even, and to allow of theregulation of the thrust of the ejector as desired. In the constructionshown the rod, R, passes through one end of the lever, L, in a slottedorifice, and has a shoulder bearing thereon upon the upper portion todepress the lever while it is raised when the rod is elevated bycontacton the under side with the spring, 8.

As will be seen from the drawings the cams, rods and levers operatingthe upper die and the ejector are so adjusted with respect to each otherthat as the upper die descends the ejector is at its lowermost positionin the die chamber, d, while it rises to eject the tablet after theupper plunger and die commences to ascend.

The powdered material is fed into the diechamber, 01, through the mediumof a swinging powder feeder, G, which is operated on the arc of a circleand constructed to swing over the die-chamber, d, when the upper die,(1' has ascended and to retreat away from the line of travel of theupper die, cl, after the powdered material has been supplied to thedie-chamber and the upper die, at, commences to descend. In order toaccomplish this I provide about on a level with the surface of the base,A; the powder feeder, G, is prefer- I ably so adjusted to the verticalpin, 6, that it has little or no frictional bearing upon the surface ofthe plate 13, as it swings in the segment of a circle over the same, yetit is in such close contact as to prevent the powdered material fromescaping out of its lowermost orifice, 6, except when said orifice isswung over and registers with the die-chamber, d. This constructionreduces the friction materially and also prevents the discoloration oftablets or oxidation by contact with particles of the metal as whereacid is contained in the powder. The arm, E, and powder feeder, G,secured thereto is preferably swung by means of a horizontal cam, F,operated from the main shaft, S, through the medium of the verticalshaft, f, and beveled gear wheels, f f*. The cam, F, is what might betermed a recessed cam, as shown in Fig. 5; the arm, E, is located belowthe cam, F, and has a stud or friction roller, f secured thereon, andprotruding within the recessed portions of the cam, F; a spring, 8 issecured to the frame, A, at one end and to the end of the lever, E, atthe other end, so as to produce an even steady movement of thecam-operated lever and the parts thereto attached though the spring maybe dispensed with; the cam, F, is preferably fluted or corrugated at theportions nearest to the center so as to perceptibly agitate the arm, E,and the powder feeder G as when it is over the die-chamber, cl, to moreeffectually precipitate the powder into the diechamber. The can], F, isso adjusted upon the shaft, f that the powder feeder G, is reciprocatedon its axis, f, over the die-chamber, d, while the plunger and upper dieare in elevated position and is receded, after supplying thedie-chamber, as the upper plunger and upper die descend. The tubesection or powder feeder, G, is supplied from a hopper, G, rigidlysecured in position to the machine by the rod, g, or by other suitablemeans, and is connected with the said hopper through the medium of aflexible tube, g, secured at its upper end to the hopper, G, and at itslower end to the upper portion of the powder feeder, G.

In order to facilitate the feeding of the powder from the feeder, G,into the diechamber, d, a stirrer or agitator, g is journaled in thecasing of the powder feeder, G, with the lower ends, preferably pronged,protruding into the lower partof the tube section a little above thedischarge orifice, e; the upper part of the agitator g isprovided with asmall gear-wheel, g constructed to mesh in the stationary rack, rlocated upon the standard, A so that as the powder feeder, G is operatedby the arm, E, the agitator, 9 will rotate, or partially rotate, byengagement with the rack, r and thus assist in insuring a a free flow tothe powder into the die-chamber, d. The agitator is not an essentialfeature l though it is preferably employed.

The size of the tablet to be compressed is regulated by the extent ofthe downward thrust of the ejector or lower die, (1 to accomplish thisdesired regulation I preferably provide a wedge, w, beneath thevertically reciprocating rod or plunger, d as an adjustable bearingtherefor, said wedge, w, being preferably located in a horizontal slot,w, in the casting, A, and adjusted by means of a nut, w and bolt, to.The adjustment of the lower die or ejector may, however, be regulated byother means, such as by a verticalset-sc1'ew,'w provided in the casting,A, immediately below the part, (i as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4.

The die-chamber, d, is preferably provided with a flange, d at its lowerend, as shown in Fig. 8, and is introduced into the die-plate, p, frombeneath, as shown in section in Fig. 3,

and is removable and. interchangeable; in

this construction by simply removing the screw, 97,, a die of anydesired interior size can be introduced into the die plate, 1), in thesame orifice. A gutter, p, is preferably juncture the nose of the powderfeeder, G, in its forward travel on its axis over .the diechamber, cl,will knock the tablet off the dieplate and into the gutter and chute.

I provide in my invention a light, efficient, rapid and strongcompressing machine; as great power is required to compress many of thematerials employed in the compressing of tablets great strength andrigidity of parts is necessary, yet at the same time a desirable featureof compressing machines, while combining strength, is lightness; inorder to ac complish these desired results I provide a comparativelylight casting and brace the vertical standard, A upon which is the mostse-' vere strain with a U-shaped metallic rod, 75, which is providedaround the standard, A in a groove, t, and tightly drawn and secured bythe screw-threaded nuts, 1?, adjusted on the ends of the rod, t, and onthe inside of the casting, A. v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patcut, is

1. In a pill compressing machine the combination with the die-chamber,an upper plunger and ejector and operating mechanism, of a pivotedpowder feed er rigidly secured on an arm, said arm pivotally secured tothe frame of the machine a rotative agitator provided in said feeder andmeans for moving the powder feeder on its pivoted arm in the are of acircle and shaking and vibrating the feeder over the die-plate forsupplying the die-chamber with powder and receding the said feeder outof the line ofthe plunger as it descends in the manner substantially asdescribed.

2. In a pill compressing machine in combination with a plunger, ejectorand die-chamber and their operating mechanism a powder feeder, G,pivotally secured through the medium of the arm E, to the frame of themachine, mechanism for moving the powder feeder, G, in the arc of acircle over the die plate and vibrating the feeder as it arrives overthe die-chamber, agitator, g provided in said powder feeder having gearwheel, 9 provided at the upper end thereof engaging in the rack, rsecured to the frame of the machine for giving a rotative movement tothe agitator as the powder feeder swings over the die-plate in themanner and for the purpose substantially as described.

3. In a tablet compressing machine the combination of a die-chamber,plunger and ejector and their operating mechanism, of a powder feederpivotally secured to the frame of the machine through the medium of thearm, E, cam, F, engaging with the arm, E, and thereby operating thepowder feeder, G, in the arc of a circle over the die-plate, said camhaving indentations provided on the face thereof for agitating andvibrating the feeder, G, as it arrives over the die-chamber to assist inthe discharge of the powder, agitator, provided in the said feeder, G,having serrated wheel,

9 engaging in fixed rack, 4, operating said agitator, g asthe feedertravelsin the arc of a circle in the manner substantially as de scribed.I

4. Ihe combination in a machine for compressing powdered substances of afixed dieplate and die-chamber, vertically operating upper and lowerplunger dies, a horizontal driving shaft provided in the upper part ofthe framework, an eccentric or crank provided thereon connecting withand operating the upper plunger die, a reciprocating vertical rodoperated by a cam from the horizontal shaft, said rod connecting withand operating a horizontally disposed pivoted lever said leverconnectedwith and operating the lower die or ejector, a vertical rotating shaftoperated by beveled gearing from the horizontal shaft, a horizontallydisposed cam located upon and operated by said vertical shaft, a pivotedarm connected by a stud with said cam and operated thereby, a verticalrod provided upon said horizontal arm connected with and operating apowder feeder carrying said feeder over the die-chamber when the upperplunger die is elevated and away from the line of travel of the upperplunger die when it is depressed, an agitator provided in the powderfeeder connected with said powder feeder and means for regulating theextent of the thrusts of the upper and lower dies substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination in a machine for compressing powdered substances of abase, A, vertical standards A, A horizontal shaft, S, gearing mechanismconnected therewith, cam, O, plunger, P, connected to said cam,'byshaft, 0, and strap, 0 upper die, 01, vertical rod, R, provided withfriction pulleys, r r adapted to engage with cranks, r, '1', provided onthe shaft, S, lever, L, pivoted at Z to the base, A, connected with saidrod, R, at one end and communicating at the other end with thevertically disposed ejector plunger, d operating in the vertical guide,0, lower die or ejector, d secured to the upper end of the lowerplunger, d and guided in the diechamber, d, die-plate, p, secured to thesurface of the base, A, and removable die-chamber, d, contained in saiddie plate, 10,.vertical shaft, f driven from the main shaft, S, throughthe medium of the bevel gear wheels, f ,f cam, F, provided at the lowerend of the shaft, f, in the base, A, pivoted horizontal arm, E,pivotally secured at f to thebase, A, at one end, stud, f provided onsaid arm, E, engaging with the cam, F, and operated thereby, verticalpin, 6, provided on the outer end of the arm, E, protruding in a slotthrough the base, A, powder feeder section, G, provided rigidly to therod, g, on a line with the surface of the guide plate, p, adapted totravel over said plate in the arc of acircle and over the die-chamber,d, when the upper plunger, cl, is elevated and away fromthe line of theplunger, d, when it is depressed, agitator, g

provided in the powder feeder, G, at or near In witness whereofI havehereunto set my the orifice, e, operated by the gear Wheel, 9 hand this28th day of June, A. D. 1892. and rigid rack, 0 fixed hopper, Gr,connected with the feeder, G, through the medium of Q JAMES R. CLARK. 5the flexible tube, g, and means for regulat- Witnesses:

ing the thrusts of the upper and lower dies J. BAYARD HENRY,

respectively substantially as described. HORACE PETTIT.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent N 0. 497,532, granted May16, 1893, upon the application of James R. Clark, of Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, for animprovement in Pill-Machines, an error appears inthe printed specification requiring the following correction, Viz.: Inline 127, page 3, the reference letter g should read 0 and that the saidLetters Patent should be read withthis correction therein that the samemay conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 23d day of May, A. D. 1893.

[SEAL] J N O. M. REYNOLDS,

7 Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Oountersigned JOHN S SEYMOUR,

Commissioner of Pate'nts.-

